Delayed control timelock guard



W. DELAYED CONTROL TMELOCK GUARD Filed Nov. l5, 1933 Sheetsheei; l

1 'W623i Y W. 3. Mmmm m" AL. l)

DELAYED CONTROL TNELOCK GUARD Filed Nov. l5, 1933 L Sheets-Sheet 2 @wwwWV. GC. NELLE@ En" ML DELAYED CONTROL TMELOCK GUARD Filed Nov. l5, 193331935@ W. Mmmm ET AL, Y DEL/WED CONTROL TIMELOCK GUARD Filed Nov. l5,1935 L Sheets-Sheet @my Mm i Patente 2,039,019' nnmrnfn c'oN'rnor.rrrlrnrloort cnn This invention relates to a` delayed control timelockguard" and' r`more particularly tortirnecontrol' mechanism" forprotecting'the' dial of a c ombiatibninck ancrerl controlling access'tokey-controlledlocks, the' handles of locks; and other means by whichlocks'ma'y be manipulated to closed or opened position. v o

An object ofthe invention isto' provide guard mechanism for locksA bywhich accessv to means for manipulating the locks is prevented' until apredeterminedtime has elapsed; Another'object is to provide," improvedclockworkecontrol mechanism; which is normally idle lor unrestrained,and which may be energized bythe operator to release the'guardiafter apredetermined time and thusprovideaccess tothe lock-control means; Afurther object' is to provide a dialguard and clockw'orkc'ontrol means'forv mainl taining the guard in locked position, the clockwork beingnormally idle but capable of being energizedby the operator for eiectingthe release ofthe lockingf-me'ans'after a" predetermined time. Otherspecic objects' and advantages will ap# pear as Vthe specificationproceeds.

The invention is"illustrated, in'a preferred embodiment; by the'accompanying` drawings; in which- Figure lis a View in elevationof ourimproved delayed control-guardyFig. Za rear face View; Fig. 3, a frontface View with the" protecting cover or cap removed; Fig. 4, an'innerface viewofthe cover or" cap; ,Figs: 5 and 6, enlarged broken lsectionalelevationstaken respectively at' the lines 5 5 and iii-6 on Fig. 7;'Fig.7, `a plan'sectional view taken as indicated at line 'l on Fig.'6 andshowing the locking bolt `actuating mechanism; Fig; 8, a view similar tothat in Fig. 6, but show'- ing they locking bolt in locking engagementwith the-'cover or guard=cap Fig'. 9; abroken vertical sectional'viewtaken"l as indicated" at line' 9 9 of Fig. 8; FigplO, a brokenside'elevationoi'the cover or cap showing one of the grooved lockinglugs and the socket for the reception of the locking-bolt; Fig; 1l, aplan sectional View' taken as indicated at line ll-ll' of Fig.` 1;Fig.12, a sectional View similar to that in Fig. ll, showing the"dial-cover' equippedwith a hinge support; and Fig.- 13, al broken` rearview in elevation of a modified formof device in which the dial is heldagainst movement for a purpose which Vwill be later set out.

`Forthe purpose of illustration, the invention is shown in connectionwith the dial cina combination lock, although it will be understood thattheguardlmay be employed in connection with keyecontrolled' locks orwith manually operated handles, etc. H

In the illustration given inFigs. l to ll inclusive, A1 designates a'dial-guard casing; B, a removableguard' cap or cover; and C,clockworkcontrollccking mechanism for securing the cover or guard'cap"to casing' A.

, The casing A may be of anyv suitable construction and of `any suitablematerial. Preferably, drillproof nsteel or othermetal'is employed. Asshown more clearly in Figs. 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9, the casing" A" providesat itsl upper side a circular housingfl adaptedto'receive the dial Il ofa combination' lock. The housing lll is kopen at its frontv and at its'rear is provided with a wall l2 centrally'apertured at li'to receive the`dial stem I Llh'lhel tumblers, lock and other parts of thecombnation'lock on the inside of thel door, being oi' well knownconstruction, are not shown. In Figs. 1 and 2, the housing lis shownsecured to theI wall of a safe door D, screws l 5" passing throughperforations lt in wall l2 of the housing and into the wall of the door.Any suitable means for securing casing A to the door wall may, ofcoursegbe used.' The housing lli is provided with a: nl'imfber` ofcurved locking lugs il which are adaptedtto interlock with elementscarried by thegu'ard cover B, as'willbe later described.

``The casingA also comprises` a housing i3 for the. clockwork andlocking mechanism C. As shown moreclearly in Fig.'4 9, the housing IB isformed` integrally with housing l but is turned outwardly, downwardlyand rearwardly to form a chamber which is kopen at its rear end. Thefront wall lll'of housing l is perforated to receive'the stem of awinding key 2li. The top walldf housing |I8`is aperturedat 2l `to permitthe`extension'tnerethroughof a locking' bolt 22 and arelease'memb'er 23.Interiorly of housing ltlandintegrallyiormed with the front wall i9thereof"arek supporting posts 2li which extend rearwardlyand supportthe'framework 25 of timing'mechanism 26.

The` cover or"v guard cap B may also be of any' suitable construction.YIn the illustration given,l the coveris provided with cylindrical sidewalls 2l adapted toV be received Within the housing' lili The front Wall28 is provided centrally with aihollow' extension forming a knob orhandie 292 Formed integrally with the side walls 2l are three spaced andrearwardly extending locking ylugs 39. Each of the locking lugs t!) isprovidedwith'agroove 3l as shown more clearly Fig.J 9,l adapted to`receive the locking lugs il carried by housing lll. With thisconstruction, when the lugs and i'l are aligned so that lugs il arereceived within grooves 3l of lugs 35, the guard-cover cannot be removedwithout further rotation of the cover to disengage the interlockinglugs. Such further rotation is prevented by engagement oi the lockingbolt 22 with a recess 32 which is located in Wall 2l' of the guard-coverB adjacent one of the lugs 35, as shown more clearly in Fig. 9.

If desired, the dial-guard cover may be in the form indicated by B inFig. 12. With this construction, the cover is supported by the hingemember 33 which rotatably supports cover B on pin 35. With thisconstruction, the dial cover may be rotated, after the locking lug hasbeen retracted, so as to disengage the locking lugs and the cover maythen be swung on hinge member 33 back to an unobstructing position.

The lock-controlling mechanism C may also be of any suitableconstruction. In the illustration given, the frame 25 is secured byscrews to supporting lugs 2li within housing IS. The frame 25 carries onits rear side clockwork mechanism of well known construction. On theiront side of frame 25 is supported the main spring casing 55 andmechanism for controlling the operation of the locking bolt 22. A curvedbracket support 35a is secured to frame 25 and serves to look the springcasing 35 rigidly in position. The locking bolt 22 is guided forlongitudinal movement within a supporting metal strap 35 which issecured to the frame 25. At its lower end 3l, the bolt 22 is reduced indiameter and extends through a collar 38 carried by the lower end oi themetal strap 35. A compression spring 39 seats upon collar 33, and at itsupper end, engages the shoulder il@ formed by the reduced lower end ofthe bolt. Just above the shoulder ll, a bolt-release pin 5l is carriedby the bolt 22. Bolt 22 is also provided with a latch pin 52 which ispositioned above pin 4l, as shown more clearly in Fig. 6.

The main spring within the casing 35 is connected through shank 53 andthe reduced threaded end 53a with the internally threaded stem 25 of thewinding key. Also, fixed upon shank i3 of the main spring is a pinion155. As shown more clearly in Fig. 7, a driving gear 45 is carried uponthe free end of shaft 45 which, in turn, is supported by frame 25. Thedriving gear d5 is connected through idler pinion ll with the mainspring pinion d@ so that the gear 45 rotates directly with the rotationof the main spring stem 43.

The cam release disk i8 is also freely mounted upon shaft l5 and held inadjacent relation to the driving gear 55 by means of sleeve member 4Swhich extends about shaft d5. As shown more clearly in Figs. 6 and '7,the disk 4S is provided on one side with a groove in which is pivotallymounted a cam latch device 55 having a latch projection 5i with aninclined cam surface 52 on its upper side. A spring 53 urges the lowerarm of the member 55 outwardly. Adjacent the ends of the latch member 55are shoulders 54 and 55 adapted to be engaged by pins 55 and 5l,respectively. The pins 55 and 5l are secured to the driving gear 55. Thegear 55 is preferably provided with a series of adjustment openings 58which are interorly threaded to receive the threaded pin 56. By shiftingpin 55 from one to another of the openings 55, the period of the delayedmovement can be varied. The metal strap 36 is provided with a stop notch59 adapted to engage pin 56 and a stop notch 60 adapted to engage pin51.

The bell crank latch member 23 is provided with a latch arm Gl extendingunder the top portion of metal strap 36 and engages pin 42 when the bolt22 is in its lowered or retracted position, as shown more clearly inFig. 6. The other arm 52 of the bell crank extends in a verticaldirection and into the slot 2|. A spring 63 urges the arms 6I and 62 ina clockwise direction. The guard cap or cover B is provided with meansfor tripping the latch or bell crank 23 to release pin 42 and thelocking bolt 22. The release mechanism is shown clearly in Figs. 5, 6,and 8. Adjacent the bolt socket 32 is a small chamber 65 in which ispivoted a release cam member 65. The member 65 is provided at one endwith a downwardly turned head 66 adapted to engage the end of the lever62. A compression spring 5'! urges the head 66 in a downward direction.

In the modication illustrated in Fig. 13, mechanism is provided forlocking the dial against movement. The dial can be freed for scatteringthe tumblers by a slight turn of the winding key. Meshing with gear 45is a rotatably supported pinion 68. Fixed to the shaft 59 upon whichpinion 68 is also fixed is a crank arm l5. Pivotally connected to theend of crank arm l@ is a latch bar 'H which is guided within bracket 'l2secured to the casing A. The dial Ila is provided at its edges withspaced notches 'I3 adapted to be engaged by the pointed end 14 of latchrod ll.

Operation.

In the operation of the mechanism, assuming I that the dial guard B isremoved and that the locking bolt 22 is held in retracted position bythe latch member 23, the combination is operated in the usual manner forthrowing the main locking bolt (not shown) to locking position, thetumblers being scattered by rotating the dial member ll as in theordinary operation. The dial-cover B is then placed in position over thedial and rotated so that the ribs I7 of the casing A interlock with thegrooves 3l of the dial-guard B. When the guard is rotated to theposition shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a slightly additional rotation bringsthe release member 65 into engagement with the arm 52 of the bell crank23 and swings it in a forward direction. This movement causes the latcharm 6| to depress the locking bolt 22 against spring 39 until the latchbar 5l slips over pin 42. The locking bolt 22 is now free and as soon asthe socket 32 is aligned with the bolt 22, the bolt springs upwardlyinto the socket under the force of spring 39, as shown more clearly inFig. 8. The guard B is now securely locked in position and cannot berotated to free it from engagement with casing A.

When it is desired to open the safe and to remove the dial guard B, theoperator grasps the winding key and turns it in the direction forwinding the clockwork heretofore idle. As shown more clearly in Fig. 5,the pinions 24 and 4'! and the driving gear t5 are moved in thedirection indicated by arrows in Fig. 5 during the winding operation. Asthe gear 155 rotates in clockwise direction, the cam member 50 passesthe pin 4|, rocking on its pivot to permit the latch 5l to pass the pin.The stop 59 engages pin 56 and prevents further winding of theclockwork. When the key is released by the operator, the clockwork,which is unrestrained, immediately accable drives the pinions dll and'il and*` driving gear l5 in the direction oppositev to the arrows shownin Fig. 5. The rotation of gear t5 inrcount'erclockwise direction bringspinl into engagement with shoulder 55 ofthe cam` member 48' andeventually'latch 5l engages' pin 6H. After a predetermined time, thelatch 5| draws the locking bolt 22 to the lower position shown in Fig.6, at which point the latch arm lil slips over pin t2 and locks itagainst upward movement. The cam member lil continues to move until thelatch il slips oiT the pin lll and the member 50 reaches the positionshown in Fig. 6. The guard-cover B may now be rotated slightly todisengage the pin Il from grooves 3l and the cover may be removed. If ahinge support is employed, as illustrated in Fig. 12,. the cover B may,`after the disengagement of the locking lugs,A be swung to one side onthe hinge arm. 33.

Opposite the openings: 58 may appear numerals (not` shown) indicatingthe number of minutes such as 10, 15, 20, 30, etc., during which therelease of the locking bolt will be delayed. It will be observed thatthe shifting of pin 56 to the opening farthest from` shoulder lly willcause the pin 5l to move a greater distance from shoulder 55 when, inthewinding oper-ation, the gear d5 is turned to bring the pin 55. intoengagement with shoulder 5ft. This requiresY that the driving gear d5will move through a greater circuit, with a greater lapse of time,before pin 5l engages shoulder 55 and. begins to rotate the cam memberMl.

In the operation of the modification shown in Fig. 13, the dimensionsofl pinion B3 and the length of crank arm 'l' are such as to cause thelatch bar to move into engagement with the notches I3 oi the dial Haonly after some time has-'elapsed .after therelease of locking bolt 22.During the time interval between the release of locking bolt 22 and theengagement of latch bar 'l2 with the dial notches 13, there is plenty oftime'for the operator to' remove the guard' and to` manipulate the dial:to effect the release of the combination lock. Ii the operatory delaysfor a considerable time before removing the guard, it will be necessaryfor himto slightly turn the winding key in order. torelease the latchbar for the dialing operation.. After the safe has been opened and4 itis desired again to lock the safe, the engagement of latch bar 'll withthe dial notches 13 prevents the operator from scattering the tumblersand requires him to turn the winding key slightly. This is suiiicient toremind the operator that the guard cover should be placed in positionafter the tumblers have been scattered. With the construction shown inFig. 8, the presence of the hinge arm and the dialcover adjacent thedial also serves to remind the operator that to complete the lockingoperation, the dial-cover should be placed in position.

While we have shown specic mechanism adapted to produce certain resultsindicated, it will be understood that such mechanism is for the purposeof illustration and that other parts and devices may be readilysubstituted without departing from the spirit of our invention. Theforegoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecess-ary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly aspermissible, in view of the prior art.

We claim:

1. A. dial-guard comprising a base-casing adapted to be supportedadjacent the dial, a' cover for the dial, a locking bolt adapted toengage a recess in said cover to lock the same' to the basecasing, aspring urging said bolt toward said recess, releasable means formaintaining the locking bolt in retracted position, and means actuatedby said cover for actuating said releasable means to release saidlocking bolt.

2. Dial-guard mechanism comprising a basecasing, means for securing saidcasing adjacent the dial of a lock, said casing providing a dial chamberextending around the dial and equipped with spaced locking lugs and saidcasing providing also below said dial chamber af closed clockworkhousing, a dial-guard adapted to be mounted in said dial chamber andequipped with recesses adapted to receive the said locking lugs, avertically guided locking bolt supported in said housing and adapted toengage a recess in said cover, clockwork in said housing, means drivenby said clockwork for withdrawing the bolt when said means is moved inone direction and not affecting the position of the bolt when driven inthe opposite direction.

3. A dial-guard for a combination lock comprising: a base-casing adaptedto be supported adjacent the dial, a removable cover rotatably mountedin said casing about said dial, releasable locking means including alocking boltn for securing the cover to the base-casing, and meansactuated by the rotation of said cover for actuating said releasablelocking means to secure said cover to' the casing.

4. In combination with a combination lock equipped with a dial, timingmechanism, means for energizing and starting said timing mechanism, andmeans actuated by said timing mechanism for locking said dial againstmovement.

5. In combination with a combination lock equipped with a dial, timingmechanism, means for energizing and starting said timing mechanism, andmanually-releasable means actuated by said timing mechanism for lockingsaid dial against movement.

6. In combination with a combination lock equipped with a dial,clockwork, means for winding and starting said clockwork, means actuatedby said timing mechanism for lockingy said dial against movement, andmeans actuated by the winding of said clockwork for releasing saiddiallocking means.

7. In combination with a combination lock equipped with a dial, meansfor lockingl said dial against movement, timing mechanism controllingthe movement of said dial-locking means, and means for energizing andStarting said timing mechanism.

8. In combination: a safe door equipped with a lock having manipulatingmeans exterior to said door; and a protecting unit comprising a housingmounted on the outer side of said door, said housing being equipped witha removable closure normally preventing access to the lock and equippedalso with a clock-housing; means serving to lock said closure in closedposition; and clock mechanism mounted in said clockhousing serving tounlock said closure after a predetermined period of operation, saidclock mechanism being equipped with externally accessible winding means.

9. Means as specified in claim 8, in which the rst-mentioned housingcomprises a member attached to the front face of the safe door having aforwardly extending flange adapted to encircle the manipulating means ofthe inst-mentioned lock, said member having said clock-housing -formedintegral therewith.

10. A structure as specied in claim 8, in which -the first-mentionedhousing comprises a member adapted to be attached to the safe door,having a forwardly extending peripheral flange and in which saidclock-housing comprises a rearwardly open chamber having its Wallsformed integral with one portion of said forwardly extending flange.

11. A lock-protecting device comprising: a casing for a dial-platecomprising a casing -member adapted to be secured to a door and havingan opening for a dial-spindle, said casing-member carrying at one edge ahousing; a complemental cover-member having interlocking relation withsaid casing-member and having one edge-portion adjacent said housing; alocking-bolt in said housing adapted to lockingly engage saidcovermember; and clock-mechanism in said housing having a gear-traincontrolling said locking-bolt.

12. A lock-protecting device comprising: a casing for a dial-platecomprising a casing-member adapted to be secured to a door and having anopening for a dial-spindle, said casing-member carrying at one edge ahousing whichis integral with the casing-member and has an open sideadapted to lie adjacent the outer surface of the door; a complementalcover-member having interlocking relation with said casing-member andhaving one edge-portion adjacent said housing; a locking-bolt in saidhousing adapted to lockingly engage said cover-member; andclockmechanism in said housing controlling said locking-bolt.

13. A structure as specified in claim 11, in which said housing iscarried by the lower edgeportion of said casing-member and in which saidlocking-bolt is disposed in substantially vertical position.

14. A structure as specified in claim ll, in which said housing has anopen side adapted to be closed by the front surface of the door whensaid casing-member is secured tok the door, and in which said clockmechanism is carried by a frame inserted through the open side of saidhousing and secured internally to said housing.

l5. A structure as specified in claim l1, in

which said clock-mechanism is mounted in a frame within said housing andsaid frame is equipped with a spring for projecting said locking-bolt tolocking position and with a detent controlling the movement of saidlocking-bolt.

16. In combination: a door; a rotatable lockactuating spindle extendingthrough the door and projecting at the outer side thereof; acasingmember secured to the door having an opening through which saidspindle projects, said casingmember being of circular contour and havingone edge-portion thereof equipped with a housing; a complementalcover-member having interlocking relation with said casing-memberadapted to be rotated to non-interlocking position for removal; a dialsecured on said spindle and housed by said casing-member andcovermember; and a frame mounted in said housing equipped with a lockingbolt adapted to engage said cover-member and having mounted thereinclock-mechanism controlling the actuation of said locking-bolt.

17. Lock-protecting mechanism comprising: a casing-member having meansto support a cover rotatably and permit turning movement of the coverabout a lock; a removable cover associated with said casing-member andadapted to turn with relation thereto; a bolt; a spring serving toproject said bolt; a cover-actuated latchdevice which restrains saidbolt but permits projection of the bolt when actuated by the cover inthe operation of turning the cover to locked position; andtime-mechanism controlling retraction of said bolt.

18. Lock-protecting mechanism comprising: a casing-member having meansto support a cover rotatably and permit turning movement of the coverabout a lock; a removable cover associated with said casing-member andadapted to turn with relation thereto; a bolt; a spring serving toproject said bolt to locking position; a coveractuated latch restrainingsaid bolt until the cover is turned to locking position; time-mechanism;and means actuated by said time-*hechanism for automatically retractingsaid bolt to non-locking latched position.

WILLIAM C. MILLER. PAUL M. HAWKINS.

